Chapter 16 - Before It Shrivels

On the second day I arrived at Sunset Lane, I had a nightmare. By the time I regained consciousness, the moon was already hanging up high, and the pillow sheets were stained wet.

In my dream, I’d once again been locked up in the dark basement. Blood slowly gushed out of my body, flashing an enchanting luster in the dark. 

No one saved me.

I still felt fearful even after turning on the lights of the room. My bedroom was separated from Zhou Chen’s by a corridor. He’d told me that I had to inform him about my nightmares and insomnia.

So I knocked on his door.

He came to the door wearing gray-blue pajamas, didn’t ask any more questions, picked up his glasses from the side of the bed, put them on and made me warm milk. 

It wasn’t until the first ray of morning light rose from the horizon that I felt drowsy once again. When I started feeling sleepy, the terrifying darkness no longer lingered in my mind, but Zhou Chen repeated “I will save you” a great amount of times.

He’s a great psychologist.

On the third day, my sleeping patterns were irregular, but I never dreamt.

On the fourth day, I met my old friend whom I hadn’t seen for a long time.

Xu Xingze came in and took a deep breath, his eyes almost red. It’d been the first time I’d seen him like this.

He blamed me first for not taking good care of my health, and then Zhou Chen for not immediately telling him until now.

He then scolded Qi Shu for half an hour. 

Zhou Chen could neither laugh nor cry. He poured himself a glass of orange juice and told us he’d let us talk and that he’d go back to his study room to read some documents.

The moment Zhou Chen’s left foot stepped out the door, Xu Xingze pressed on his throat, “Did you know that the Qi family has been in a disarray lately?”

I didn’t know, and I really didn’t want to know. But looking at Xu Xingze’s repressed look, I still asked cooperatively, “What happened?”

“Firstly, Qi Shu’s company had encountered some problems, I’m not too clear about the details. He then unknowingly had a fight with his dad, then the cane was publicly pulled out, and then…” 

He glanced in the direction of the stairs before he continued, “Mr. Qi announced that he would give the shares of several companies to brother Chen… But after all, Brother Chen’s surname is Zhou, not Qi. How could the Qi family possibly agree?”

“And besides, Brother Chen doesn’t lack thatー I think the old man deliberately flashed it to Qi Shu.”

“…In short, they’ve been making a lot of noise during this period. They can’t stand each other every time they meet, as if fire mixed with water. Didn’t Brother Chen tell you?”

No, It’d be no different from going out and coming back everyday. 

Yesterday, I brought back a bouquet of gardenias and placed it at the head of my bed, saying that it could help me sleep.

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

“He might not want you to be aware of Qi Shu’s matter, bah…” Xu Xingze swatted his head, “Am I being too talkative?” 

“Pa’r bxjs, P’ii qgfafcv P mbeivc’a tfjg sbe.” P gfjrregfv tlw.

We Wlcuhf jirb rjlv atja tf tjv lcdelgfv abb wemt jybea atf Hl ojwlis gfmfcais. Llr qjgfcar atbeuta tf ilxfv Hl Vte jcv jiwbra ojlcafv.

Mbgaecjafis, tf kjr jc jiqtj. Yatfgklrf, atlr wjaafg kbeivc’a yf fjrlis rbinfv.

“P rjmglolmfv abb wemt obg sbe,” tf rjlv. 

I couldn’t help laughing at him.

“Yeah yeah, keep being happy.” He came up again and tousled my hair, “There are millions of alpha out there, if it doesn’t work, we’ll change to a new one.”

Xu Xingze stayed with me all afternoon before he got up to leave. Before leaving, I gave him my new number.

My old phone was left in the hospital. Zhou Chen helped replace it for me a few days ago, so at present, only the name 【Zhou Chen】 was in the contact list. 

I was on my own anyways, there’s nobody to keep in touch with.

It was still early after dinner. Zhou Chen asked me if I wanted to go up the mountain for a walk.

“Do you know why it’s called Sunset Lane?” He asked and answered himself, “Because the dusk is breathtaking.” 

We walked side by side on the mountain path, not far away was a shallow stream sparkling under the sunset.

The mountain was cooler and fresher than the city. The early summer breeze carried the unknown aroma of plants and trees, which had a pleasant faint smell.

Not only were there phoenix trees on Phoenix Mountain, but there were also tons of plants I wasn’t aware of. Zhou Chen informed me as we treaded lightly.

His voice carried a deep and warm ambience, his speech neither hurried nor slow, resembling the current evening wind. 

“You seem to know everything.” I said.

He smiled, “Because I’ve got nothing to do.”

“What’s that?”

Ahead of us was a tall tree decorated with small white flowers lounging on the side of the road. I’ve seen it before, but no idea what its name was. 

“That’s a tassel tree… Ah! Careful!”

It was too late.

I was standing on tiptoes to examine the flowers, and didn’t notice a branch was under my feet. When Zhou Chen opened his mouth to remind me, I already stepped on it, the soles of my feet slipped and there was a thump on my wrist bone, then came a heart-wrenching pain. 

Zhou Chen strode forward to hold me, causing me to fall on top of him.

I gasped in pain. I probably sprained my foot.

He helped me to sit on a stone perching on the side. He squatted down, picked up my calf and asked, “Does it hurt?”

I could only see the dark hair on his forehead and the high bridge of his nose from my perspective. He seemed to be frowning. 

Before I could even reply, he already took off my shoes and grasped my ankle in the palm of his hand.

!?

All of my attention was focused on the skin he’d been touching, and it suddenly didn’t matter if it hurt or not.

“Zh-Zhou Chen…” 

“Don’t move.” He looked at my ankle carefully, lifted his head and sighed, “It’s swollen. Why are you so careless?”

I know it’s swollen…

The sky was turning darker. We currently had two choices in front of us, it’s either we call someone and to pick us up, or… Zhou Chen would take me back himself.

“Cars couldn’t drive up this road. Let’s go.” He squatted down and showed a piggy-back posture. He was extremely calm. 

I recited “I’m a beta, not an omega” three times before I slowly climbed up and whispered, “Then I’ll trouble you.”

Zhou Chen’s shoulders were wide, and he had long legs. He seemed thin, but the muscles hidden underneath his shirt were tough. My line of sight faced the glands on his nape, and I suddenly realized that Zhou Chen had never revealed his alpha strength to me, and had never even let me smell his pheromones.

I sniffed hard, but to no avail.

He seemed to perceive my subtle movement and turned around with a raised eyebrow. 

I shrank back and didn’t dare move. He seemed to laugh in a low voice, but I didn’t know if it was only an illusion.

Zhou Chen was indifferent even after 20 minutes passed on our journey. Contrary to him, I was so embarrassed that I didn’t know where to place my hands.

As far as I could tell, he should be an alpha of the same level as Qi Shu. He walked while carrying me on his back for so long without his legs trembling, but his breathing got a little faster when we got home.

He dropped me on the sofa and searched for the medicine kit. 

Strangers at first meeting, but soon familiar enough. This time, with psychological preparation, I was less nervous when the medicine was applied.

Zhou Chen was gripping my ankle with an ice pack to reduce the swelling when the phone placed on the nearby tea table suddenly rang. I glanced at the word “Qi Shu” displayed on the screen.

He neither reached out to answer nor hung up, and just looked up at me.

I froze for a moment, reacting to the fact that this was him asking for my opinion. 

My mouth was much faster than my brain. Before I even had the time to ponder what to do, the three words “It’s okay” had already been blurted out.

Zhou Chen couldn’t move his hands so I pressed the answer and turned on the speaker button.

“Zhou Chen.” Qi Shu sounded as if he’d murder someone, not even addressing him as cousin anymore.

“Yeah?” Zhou Chen lazily responded. 

“You dare lie to me about not knowing where he is. I found your medicine intake record today. You shouldn’t have heart disease or stomach problems, bah?”

Qi Shu would rarely be this aggressive. He’d always look at everything with disdain, and wouldn’t care about anything.

Zhou Shen wasn’t anxious to be exposed, gave out a soft “ah”, and seemed to be annoyed as he uttered, “Careless.”

“Where the fuck is he?” Qi Shu gnashed his teeth in anger. 

“Next to me ah.” Zhou Shen answered as if it was a matter of course.

The phone was quiet for a while, and when Qi Shu spoke again, his voice sank a few points. “If you send him back, I won’t bother with you about anything else.”

“I’m afraid that’s not possible…” Zhou Shen spoke lightly, “He can’t go. I’m giving him… medicine now.”

When he finished, Qi Shu’s breathing suddenly sped up and his voice became sharp, “What did you do to him?!” 

Zhou Chen let out a wry smile and unhurriedly spoke, “What you did to him, I did to him. You happy, cousin?”

If he wasn’t right in front of me right now, with gentle movements and a calm gaze, I’d believe him.

——Oscars owed Zhou Chen a little golden man.

Qi Shu was thoroughly enraged and shouted, “Zhou Chen, how dare you fucking touch him!” 

Coincidentally, my posture that I’d been maintaining for so long numbed my legs. I wanted to move but I accidentally bumped my ankle, so I let out a stifled grunt.

Qi Shu’s voice suddenly vanished. After a few seconds, he asked stiffly and in an uncertain manner, “Xiao Yu?”

When I heard my name escape past his lips, my entire chest felt like it was submerged in muriatic acid. It was painful and acidic, and it became difficult to breathe.

Zhou Chen decisively hung up the phone. 

Chapter 16 - Before It Shrivels

On the second day I arrived at Sunset Lane, I had a nightmare. By the time I regained consciousness, the moon was already hanging up high, and the pillow sheets were stained wet.

In my dream, I’d once again been locked up in the dark basement. Blood slowly gushed out of my body, flashing an enchanting luster in the dark. 

No one saved me.

I still felt fearful even after turning on the lights of the room. My bedroom was separated from Zhou Chen’s by a corridor. He’d told me that I had to inform him about my nightmares and insomnia.

So I knocked on his door.

He came to the door wearing gray-blue pajamas, didn’t ask any more questions, picked up his glasses from the side of the bed, put them on and made me warm milk. 

It wasn’t until the first ray of morning light rose from the horizon that I felt drowsy once again. When I started feeling sleepy, the terrifying darkness no longer lingered in my mind, but Zhou Chen repeated “I will save you” a great amount of times.

He’s a great psychologist.

On the third day, my sleeping patterns were irregular, but I never dreamt.

On the fourth day, I met my old friend whom I hadn’t seen for a long time.

Xu Xingze came in and took a deep breath, his eyes almost red. It’d been the first time I’d seen him like this.

He blamed me first for not taking good care of my health, and then Zhou Chen for not immediately telling him until now.

He then scolded Qi Shu for half an hour. 

Zhou Chen could neither laugh nor cry. He poured himself a glass of orange juice and told us he’d let us talk and that he’d go back to his study room to read some documents.

The moment Zhou Chen’s left foot stepped out the door, Xu Xingze pressed on his throat, “Did you know that the Qi family has been in a disarray lately?”

I didn’t know, and I really didn’t want to know. But looking at Xu Xingze’s repressed look, I still asked cooperatively, “What happened?”

“Firstly, Qi Shu’s company had encountered some problems, I’m not too clear about the details. He then unknowingly had a fight with his dad, then the cane was publicly pulled out, and then…” 

He glanced in the direction of the stairs before he continued, “Mr. Qi announced that he would give the shares of several companies to brother Chen… But after all, Brother Chen’s surname is Zhou, not Qi. How could the Qi family possibly agree?”

“And besides, Brother Chen doesn’t lack thatー I think the old man deliberately flashed it to Qi Shu.”

“…In short, they’ve been making a lot of noise during this period. They can’t stand each other every time they meet, as if fire mixed with water. Didn’t Brother Chen tell you?”

No, It’d be no different from going out and coming back everyday. 

Yesterday, I brought back a bouquet of gardenias and placed it at the head of my bed, saying that it could help me sleep.

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

“He might not want you to be aware of Qi Shu’s matter, bah…” Xu Xingze swatted his head, “Am I being too talkative?” 

“Pa’r bxjs, P’ii qgfafcv P mbeivc’a tfjg sbe.” P gfjrregfv tlw.

We Wlcuhf jirb rjlv atja tf tjv lcdelgfv abb wemt jybea atf Hl ojwlis gfmfcais. Llr qjgfcar atbeuta tf ilxfv Hl Vte jcv jiwbra ojlcafv.

Mbgaecjafis, tf kjr jc jiqtj. Yatfgklrf, atlr wjaafg kbeivc’a yf fjrlis rbinfv.

“P rjmglolmfv abb wemt obg sbe,” tf rjlv. 

I couldn’t help laughing at him.

“Yeah yeah, keep being happy.” He came up again and tousled my hair, “There are millions of alpha out there, if it doesn’t work, we’ll change to a new one.”

Xu Xingze stayed with me all afternoon before he got up to leave. Before leaving, I gave him my new number.

My old phone was left in the hospital. Zhou Chen helped replace it for me a few days ago, so at present, only the name 【Zhou Chen】 was in the contact list. 

I was on my own anyways, there’s nobody to keep in touch with.

It was still early after dinner. Zhou Chen asked me if I wanted to go up the mountain for a walk.

“Do you know why it’s called Sunset Lane?” He asked and answered himself, “Because the dusk is breathtaking.” 

We walked side by side on the mountain path, not far away was a shallow stream sparkling under the sunset.

The mountain was cooler and fresher than the city. The early summer breeze carried the unknown aroma of plants and trees, which had a pleasant faint smell.

Not only were there phoenix trees on Phoenix Mountain, but there were also tons of plants I wasn’t aware of. Zhou Chen informed me as we treaded lightly.

His voice carried a deep and warm ambience, his speech neither hurried nor slow, resembling the current evening wind. 

“You seem to know everything.” I said.

He smiled, “Because I’ve got nothing to do.”

“What’s that?”

Ahead of us was a tall tree decorated with small white flowers lounging on the side of the road. I’ve seen it before, but no idea what its name was. 

“That’s a tassel tree… Ah! Careful!”

It was too late.

I was standing on tiptoes to examine the flowers, and didn’t notice a branch was under my feet. When Zhou Chen opened his mouth to remind me, I already stepped on it, the soles of my feet slipped and there was a thump on my wrist bone, then came a heart-wrenching pain. 

Zhou Chen strode forward to hold me, causing me to fall on top of him.

I gasped in pain. I probably sprained my foot.

He helped me to sit on a stone perching on the side. He squatted down, picked up my calf and asked, “Does it hurt?”

I could only see the dark hair on his forehead and the high bridge of his nose from my perspective. He seemed to be frowning. 

Before I could even reply, he already took off my shoes and grasped my ankle in the palm of his hand.

!?

All of my attention was focused on the skin he’d been touching, and it suddenly didn’t matter if it hurt or not.

“Zh-Zhou Chen…” 

“Don’t move.” He looked at my ankle carefully, lifted his head and sighed, “It’s swollen. Why are you so careless?”

I know it’s swollen…

The sky was turning darker. We currently had two choices in front of us, it’s either we call someone and to pick us up, or… Zhou Chen would take me back himself.

“Cars couldn’t drive up this road. Let’s go.” He squatted down and showed a piggy-back posture. He was extremely calm. 

I recited “I’m a beta, not an omega” three times before I slowly climbed up and whispered, “Then I’ll trouble you.”

Zhou Chen’s shoulders were wide, and he had long legs. He seemed thin, but the muscles hidden underneath his shirt were tough. My line of sight faced the glands on his nape, and I suddenly realized that Zhou Chen had never revealed his alpha strength to me, and had never even let me smell his pheromones.

I sniffed hard, but to no avail.

He seemed to perceive my subtle movement and turned around with a raised eyebrow. 

I shrank back and didn’t dare move. He seemed to laugh in a low voice, but I didn’t know if it was only an illusion.

Zhou Chen was indifferent even after 20 minutes passed on our journey. Contrary to him, I was so embarrassed that I didn’t know where to place my hands.

As far as I could tell, he should be an alpha of the same level as Qi Shu. He walked while carrying me on his back for so long without his legs trembling, but his breathing got a little faster when we got home.

He dropped me on the sofa and searched for the medicine kit. 

Strangers at first meeting, but soon familiar enough. This time, with psychological preparation, I was less nervous when the medicine was applied.

Zhou Chen was gripping my ankle with an ice pack to reduce the swelling when the phone placed on the nearby tea table suddenly rang. I glanced at the word “Qi Shu” displayed on the screen.

He neither reached out to answer nor hung up, and just looked up at me.

I froze for a moment, reacting to the fact that this was him asking for my opinion. 

My mouth was much faster than my brain. Before I even had the time to ponder what to do, the three words “It’s okay” had already been blurted out.

Zhou Chen couldn’t move his hands so I pressed the answer and turned on the speaker button.

“Zhou Chen.” Qi Shu sounded as if he’d murder someone, not even addressing him as cousin anymore.

“Yeah?” Zhou Chen lazily responded. 

“You dare lie to me about not knowing where he is. I found your medicine intake record today. You shouldn’t have heart disease or stomach problems, bah?”

Qi Shu would rarely be this aggressive. He’d always look at everything with disdain, and wouldn’t care about anything.

Zhou Shen wasn’t anxious to be exposed, gave out a soft “ah”, and seemed to be annoyed as he uttered, “Careless.”

“Where the fuck is he?” Qi Shu gnashed his teeth in anger. 

“Next to me ah.” Zhou Shen answered as if it was a matter of course.

The phone was quiet for a while, and when Qi Shu spoke again, his voice sank a few points. “If you send him back, I won’t bother with you about anything else.”

“I’m afraid that’s not possible…” Zhou Shen spoke lightly, “He can’t go. I’m giving him… medicine now.”

When he finished, Qi Shu’s breathing suddenly sped up and his voice became sharp, “What did you do to him?!” 

Zhou Chen let out a wry smile and unhurriedly spoke, “What you did to him, I did to him. You happy, cousin?”

If he wasn’t right in front of me right now, with gentle movements and a calm gaze, I’d believe him.

——Oscars owed Zhou Chen a little golden man.

Qi Shu was thoroughly enraged and shouted, “Zhou Chen, how dare you fucking touch him!” 

Coincidentally, my posture that I’d been maintaining for so long numbed my legs. I wanted to move but I accidentally bumped my ankle, so I let out a stifled grunt.

Qi Shu’s voice suddenly vanished. After a few seconds, he asked stiffly and in an uncertain manner, “Xiao Yu?”

When I heard my name escape past his lips, my entire chest felt like it was submerged in muriatic acid. It was painful and acidic, and it became difficult to breathe.

Zhou Chen decisively hung up the phone.